Flybe starts autumn fares war on domestic travel – that could make planes cheaper than trains

Simon Calder

Simon Calder’s career in travel started at Gatwick Airport, where he cleaned aircraft for Laker Airways and later worked as a security officer. He became The Independent’s Travel Correspondent in 1994, and is known as “the Man Who Pays His Way” because he does not accept free travel facilities. He writes across the Independent titles, as well as for the Evening Standard.

Stay in bed in Devon an hour longer, arrive in London 40 minutes earlier and save £95 on the train fare - that is the offer to the citizens of Exeter by Britain's biggest regional airline.

Flybe has signalled an autumn fares war on domestic travel,
against both rival airlines and the train operator First Great
Western. The airline, which is based in Exeter, has launched a new
network of flights connecting cities in Britain and Ireland with
London City airport (LCY).

Each weekday from 27 October, 30 flights will fly to or from the
Docklands airport. Flybe will launch four daily flights to
Edinburgh and Dublin, competing with British Airways and CityJet
respectively.

There are currently no air links covering the 150-mile distance
between Exeter and London, but Flybe claims its timings – with a
departure at 6.40am, arriving in the capital at 8am – will entice
business travellers from First Great Western. Advance tickets on
the first flight from Exeter suggest a fare as low as £23, compared
with £118 for an Anytime ticket on the first train of the day – on
which Advance fares are difficult to find.

Flybe is also re-launching services to London City from Belfast
(three times a day) and Inverness (twice daily). All flights come
with a timekeeping promise: “If you arrive more than 60 minutes
late, due to reasons within our control, we’ll give you a £60
flight credit.”

Flybe’s chief executive, Saad Hammad, rejected the suggestion
that the move could lead to an all-out battle on price: “I’m not
expecting kamikaze behaviour from the competitors. Our sense is
that there is enough demand on these routes. We are the champion of
the regions.”

A spokeswoman for British Airways said: “We always welcome
competition and believe that we offer our customers travelling from
London City airport a great service and value for money.”

London City’s chief executive, Declan Collier, said: “Flybe will
bring an immediate uplift of up to half a million new passengers to
the airport. In addition, Flybe’s selection of routes serves to
cement further LCY’s status as the business traveller’s airport of
choice.”

The airline says that it will also launch off-peak leisure
flights from London City to ski airports, provincial airports in
France and destinations in northern Spain.

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